Book Review: The Crucible
Okay, I do realise that it is January and it might be a little premature to say this, but this is probably the best play I have read in a long, long time. Better than ‘Electra’ and that is saying something. Arthur Miller knows how to pack a punch and kick you when you’re down. For those who do not know the context of this play: The Salem Witch Trials, infamous for how quickly hysteria spread and captured the minds of a quiet close-knitt community in Massachusetts from 1962 to 1963. The terror of witches lasted over a year and changed the lives of over 200 people. Of those accused, 30 people were found guilty, and 19 were hanged. It only came to an end when clegymen started to question how valid the ‘spectral’ evidence was. But for Miller, it was more than just about witches and the devil; it was about McCarthyism - that similar but resounding wave of terror that gripped America in the face of communism. Miller himself was questioned and was convicted of contempt when he refused to name those around him as communists. I never took Miller to be a petty man, but thank god he was!
Let's talk about the writing style, because it is unlike anything I have ever come across before. We have a running commentary from Miller himself, a sort of ersatz narrator, not necessarily about the events of the play but more about how they relate to the communist tribunals. I have not seen the play live, but I wonder whether any production pays homage to these words and includes them within the play. I wonder how they would do it? Oh, to be a fly on the wall of a ‘Crucible’ production meeting! The style adds a new layer of contempt for the political hysteria that was 1950’s America at the dawn of the Cold War. But Miller adds witches, public executions, the loss of property, propriety and faith, building to an all-damning condemnation of the American Dream. A dream that was once so bright and so beautiful was lost to the fever of bureaucratic bullshit.
Now, let's talk about the characters. Abigail Williams, it's hard to see her as a child in this play, as she is much older than she seems. She is spoiled, a brat and despises her situation in life as an orphan with no money and meagre prospects. However, power, when wielded in condemnation, leads to many false accusations and petty revenge: John Proctor, a man of little faith in religion but faith in man. Proctor is the light of reason in the world of devils and magic, but for which he is horribly condemned by a lie and by his own hubris. Both characters are interwoven by their own sins, failings and their interpretation of ‘Faith’. For Williams its faith in a lie, faith that her accusations will serve as her means to an end and faith that she can control all the other children who lie too. For Proctor, it is the faith in the people and faith in his wife that is his undoing and for which nothing can prepare him.
Read the play - it is excellent. There is probably a version somewhere available to stream online, and one that I really want to watch. The theatre version, of course. I have little hope in a film adaptation that captures the fire and anger of Arthur Miller.